Season's first great white shark sighting in Massachusetts confirmed
The New England Aquarium is urging the public to keep an eye out, be aware of their surroundings, and report shark sightings. The New England Aquarium says that on Sunday, a person noticed a pool of blood in the water off Smith's Point, the farthest west end of Nantucket. Examining the water, the person then saw a seal swimming toward he beach with a shark following it.
Shark attacks: How much should you worry?
Photos of the deceased seal were examined by shark expert John Chisholm, an adjunct scientist at the Aquarium, who confirmed that the wounds were from a white shark bite. 'This is the time of year when we like to remind people to be 'shark smart' as white sharks return to the inshore waters of New England, where they'll hunt seals and other prey through the summer and into the fall,' Chisholm said.
The white shark, or the great white shark, is built for speed with its torpedo-shaped body and has the ability to raise their body temperature above the surrounding seawater, which is rare in the fish world. The Department of Fish and Game says small white sharks are known to feed on striped bass and larger sharks target seals or scavenging humpback, minke, and right whales in Massachusetts waters.
To help beachgoers track and report shark sightings, the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy is encouraging people to use the 'Sharktivity' app. It also helps raise awareness of a healthy co-existence between sharks and people.
'Increased shark sightings can be a positive sign of a recovering marine ecosystem, but this recovery also means that people should take even more care while swimming or surfing,' said Dr. Nick Whitney, senior scientist and chair of the Anderson Cabot Center's Fisheries Science and Emerging Technologies program. 'Our work in the Aquarium's Anderson Cabot Center focuses on balancing ocean use with preservation, meaning we recognize the importance of the ocean for human use while trying to reduce the impact of humans on sharks, and vice versa.'
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.
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